Microsoft is currently readying the release of Internet Explorer 8 RC1 for early next week, company sources indicate.

In a blog posting by Microsoft's Frank Olivier, the UX and Compatibility program manager confirms "we're about to release" IE8 RC1. Insiders indicate it might be worth penning Monday 26th January in your calendar as the date for IE8 RC1.

IE8 RC1 will not install on the current Windows 7 beta build (7000) and it's rumored that Microsoft could be readying some new beta bits for connect testers in the coming weeks. The RC1 build will initially be offered to Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems.

IE8 introduces several new and updated features for Internet users, for a full overview of the features included in Windows 7 IE8 checkout our own IE8 review.

In related news, Tim Schreck, Media Center program manager, posted on our forums regarding a newly identified Windows 7 bug. Systems running in locales that use in-band scheduling –DVB-T in the United Kingdom and New Zealand are causing multiple crashes in mcGlidHost resulting in Windows Error Reporting (WER) attempting to upload the crash information multiple times. In some cases this is eating up lots of bandwidth and increasing router activity. Schreck has posted a temporary workaround and confirms Microsoft is "working on releasing a fix as quickly as possible".